1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to a Universal Serial Bus (USB) electrical connector with a built-in over-current protection device such as a fuse.
2. Description of Related Art
The Universal Serial Bus electrical connector is well known in the art and designed to replace all the various input/output interfaces current used on the personal computers, providing a single interface for all peripherals. The Universal Serial Bus specifications support hot pluggability, permit peripherals to be connected and disconnected to a computer system without having to shut down the system, and include such features as polarization and power contact positions. In addition, the specifications call for a fuse on the interface card to protect the system from over-currents.
Placement of a fuse on the interface card fulfills the need for system protection, but makes the fuse difficult to access. The present invention seeks to provide a Universal Serial Bus interface in which the over-current protection device is integrated into the electrical connector rather than provided on the interface card. One proposal is to include a printed circuit board within the electrical connector, and soldering over-current protection device thereto. The other is to integrate the over-current protection device such as a fuse into the housing of the electrical connector directly without applying the printed circuit board thereto. However, to the latter proposal, it is not a practical manner to manufacture. First, it complicates the design of the housing for receiving the over-current protection device and the electrical contacts simultaneously. Second, it is difficult to establish reliable mechanical and electrical connection between the over-current protection device and the corresponding power contacts of the electrical connector. Third, it is also difficult to find proper type of over-current protection device such as a fuse in the market to locate between a mating end for mating with a mating plug and a mounting end for mounting to a motherboard of the power contact.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is desired to overcome the problems mentioned above.